Sören

Sören was the leader of a mercenary team that the Scottish Assassins often hired. Himself a former Assassin and the master of William Wallace, Sören resigned after he became disillusioned with the Brotherhood and the burden of its expectations. Part of a Scottish clan descended from Norwegian settlers, Sören and his twin were also Children of Fal and as such were intended to devote their entire life to the Creed.

Biography

Path as an Assassin

Born as a Child of Fal, Sören, along with his twin brother, was soon brought onto the path of aiding the Assassins against the Templars. Using their home Beinn Eallair as a base for the Assassins, both brothers trained and served the Brotherhood. However, their fort was soon attacked by the Templars, which left Sören and elderly couple Ruadh and Mairead as the only survivors of their clan. Making sure their enemies would not find this base again, he hunted down the retreating Templars.

Due to the loss of his brother and his clan and the strain of the work, he later left the Brotherhood. From his departure, he was indirectly blamed for the Templars' rise and the Lann Fala nearly decimating the Children of Fal as well. He later found work as a mercenary and welcomed Kyle Macdougall and her cousins Craig and Fergus from Clan Macdougall, Edan and druidess Moira as part of his newfound clan.

Rescuing Fillan

In 1296, Sören was tasked by the Scottish Brotherhood to find and recover twins Fillan and Ailéas from their ally, Alastair Aitken, who lived in Berwick. However, upon their arrival, they only found Fillan, whom Sören knocked out, and assumed his sister died in the attack on their village. Talking to Fillan after unbounding him, he explained their mission and how the Brotherhood. After Fillan saw his village aflame, the boy left with the mercenaries.

After properly introducing Fillan to his mercenaries, Sören and his crew escorted him while telling Kyle to part ways on a different task. One night, they all saw Kyle fight and capture an English scout. After interrogating the soldier, Sören spoke with his crew and ultimately killed him after being told the English are after Fillan. Sören ordered Fillan to be scarred to avoid any recognition and traveled for two days to Cranshaws. However, when he sent Craig to scout and ordered Fergus to guard Fillan, they were all ambushed by the English soldiers. Before long, they all saw the Lann Fala with their leader Cornavii. Then, they saw Fillan foolishly charge Cornavii but freeze at the last second.

Sören ordered Craig to defend the boy, who was rushed by Moira to Fergus. Realizing their forces were outnumbered, Craig told Sören and his fellow mercenaries to leave before sacrificing himself. Escaping the Lann Fala, Sören rushed and forced Fillan to fight him. Before he can continue to discipline him, he noticed a similar birthmark on Fillan and left his camp to reflect. Gone for the morning, Sören soon returned to see Kyle training Fillan. He soon informed Kyle that he believed Fillan is a Child of Fal, which proved the mission to be more dangerous than usual.

Rite of passage

Arriving in Dalkeith, Sören and Fillan went into an inn to meet with their contact, Assassin spy Deorsa. Upon their meeting, Sören grabbed Deorsa's neck and demanded why the Brotherhood concealed the truth of Fillan's lineage. After discussing new terms, Sören promised to take him to Scone. While the village prepared for Bealltainn, Sören started to train Fillan but reprimanded the boy for being a coward. To test him, Sören added Fillan to his party's plan to raid a English encampment nearby and gave him a target. At night, Sören led his group to kill the soldiers while telling Fillan to kill the soldier asleep. However, after dealing with the other soldiers, he saw Fillan still. Quickly, Sören killed the last guard and told Fillan to resolve whatever turmoil he has.

During the Bealltainn festival, Sören planned Fillan to go through the Bealltainn rite of passage, which the Brotherhood and his mercenaries have done. Finding Fillan spending a romantic evening with Kyle, he grabbed the boy, placed him in a dolmen, and began his trial. Fortunately, Sören found the boy escaping the dolmen and was proud. However, he saw Fillan emotionless and angry. Nevertheless, after the festival ended, they all left for Leith to find passage to Scone.

Meeting with the Brotherhood

While he, Edan, and Fergus sought and found a captain to sail them, Sören soon found Fillan, who killed a thief that attacked him. To escape, they both took the roofs and they gathered their group to sail from Leith immediately. Within two weeks, they all arrived to Scone, where they met with Assassin council leader Thomas of Balmerino. While Sören spoke with Thomas alone, Fillan talked with Sören's old apprentice William Wallace about their similar plights. Sören and Fillan soon walk to the basement of the abbey and enter the secret vault, where the council awaited them.

Ultimately, the council gave Fillan a choice to join the Brotherhood or not, while Sören looked away from their offer to him. After the day ended, Sören and Fillan joined the council again and FIllan agreed to join the Assassins. While Fillan stayed for the meeting, the council decided Sören to be his mentor as he is the best fighter out of all of them. Reluctant, Sören agreed on the terms that they do not ask him for any more missions. They agreed and both Sören and Fillan left the vault. Sören told him that they will leave immmediately in the morning for the Highlands.

The next morning, they all awoke to the English attacking the abbey. Sören ordered Kyle and Fillan to escape through the woods while the rest face off the English soldiers. However, while distracting some soldiers, he noticed other English soldiers had found them in the trees. Thus, he attacked them to give the duo time to escape further. Yet, Fillan was hit by an arrow and fell from the trees while Kyle defended him. When Cornavii came and held Fillan by the throat, Sören and the rest of the mercenaries rushed to attack the Lann Fala. Engaged with Cornavii solely, he managed to best him in combat but Cornavii fled after seeing his men gone. He and his team fled from the flames and brought an unconscious Fillan out of the woods.

Training Fillan

Sören ordered his team to gag Fillan, who was moaning over his wounds, while he raced forward to Beinn Eallair alone to split up. After days of traveling, they all arrived with Fillan being astonished while Sören welcomed them. Sören then explained the fort's history and his clan's ties with the Brotherhood but how a Templar attack nearly decimated the fort and his former clan. After waiting for Fillan to be cleared to train, Sören began to teach Fillan about discretion, the shadows, and combat skills. Within months, Fillan began to build his fortitude and tact. However, Sören also advised him that his worth does not rely on being part of the Brotherhood but rather if they are worthy of him.

By December, Sören continued to reveal about how after the Templars' attack, he continued to be part of the Brotherhood but became lost living by their ideals. After leaving, he explained that the Brotherhood blamed him for the Templars' control and the clans being decimated by the Lann Fala. He later showed his mark, nearly being burnt off, but stated their free will meant more than their marks. After commending Fillan on his work, he went to the edge and leapt over it and then told Fillan to follow.

Fighting for Scotland

Sören and his clan soon met with Deorsa, who came to Beinn Eallair, to check on Fillan's progress and inform him of Fillan's task to work with William on the war against the English. Sören stated that he will come and asked his group if they would like to, to which they all agreed. However, Sören advised Fillan that the real reason was to give him his first assassination target.

For the next two weeks, they all traveled to Lanark and met with William Wallace, who discusses their targets. William assigns Fillan to kill Commander Bradley Dacre while the rest helps in their plan to kill the sheriff William Heselrig, ally to the Lann Fala. While Fillan prepared for his mission, the rest aided Wallace in his task against Heselrig. After completing their mission, they all later reconvened with Fillan, who found his twin sister Ailéas alive. They all figured out that a traitor was in the Brotherhood but turned their attention to aid Wallace's outcry to revolt against the English.

Two weeks into the revolt, Sören led his team to Dunstaffnage to meet with Alexander Macdougall and especially treat Edan, who sustained an injury while evading the English. While meeting with Deorsa and Macdougall, Sören discussed the current location of the Stone of Fal. However, the meeting paused once they heard the English war horn. Along with Macdougall and his clan, Sören and his mercenaries hold the fort and push the English back. However, he asked to leave to secure the Stone of Fal and had Deorsa, Moira, and the twins join him while the rest stayed to protect Dunstaffnage. However, Sören left alone to sail to Iona while the rest went to Isle of Mull to find William Wallace.

Securing the Stone of Fal

Arriving at Iona, Sören began his task to find the Stone before the Templars. However, he caught sight of Cornavii and his men at Iona Abbey, slaughtering the guards, and how the Lann Fala leader held the stone. While the Lann Fala was soon confronted by his allies, Sören used the thunder from the storm to nearly assassinate Cornavii. However, Thomas' apprentice James of Crannach revealed himself to be the traitor when he warned Cornavii and slit Deorsa's throat. Facing off against Cornavii again, their fight became one-sided when Cornavii dealt a blow to Sören's abdomen. With Sören down, Moira and the twins killed the Lann Fala soldiers and James and then. faced off against Cornavii. However, Cornavii activated the Stone and projected nightmares within their minds. Fortunately, the twins managed to resist the power and succeeded in defeating and killing him.

After acquiring the stone, the twins went to Moira, who tended to Sören's wounds. Fortunately, Sören's wound was manageable while Moira stated that he will live. Thus, the twins and Moira returned the stone back into the vault within the abbey. Successful, they all soon waited at Iona while soon seeing ships of Clan Macdougall sailing towards them.

Personality and traits

Sören was a stoic character and an imposing man. Measuring at least 3 meters tall, his musculature and presence were described by Fillan as massive. He had bright blue eyes, blonde hair that fell to his shoulders, and a blonde beard that fell to his waist and was encircled in a golden ring.

Equipment and Skills

In addition to carrying a large sword, Sören also carried a Hidden Blade, a symbol of his past allegiance to the Assassins.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Highlands Children